NYC with Edson

August 18, 2007

New York

American Museum of Natural History, Rose Center, Chinatown

(click photo to view album)

It was a Saturday so I get to join the boys' outing. We had planned to meet up with Steven for brunch at a dimsum place in Chinatown but we ran late (waiting for a realtor & her client) so we decided to cancel brunch and go straight to AMNH.

I don't even remember how many times I've been to the AMNH but I can definitely say that I only saw a few sections during each of my previous trips. After today, I remember why I never get to see the entire thing in one day. There really was a lot - too much for a day - and in fact, after a couple of hours going through 2 floors, we were pooped. We then just walked briskly through the rest of the exhibits and the Rose Center so that our entrance fee is sulit.

It was almost 6 when we got to Chinatown and I asked the boys to just hear mass first before having dinner. By 7, we were famished and our Hop Kee dinner tasted even better than usual. We got to see some sort of Festival in Little Italy. Apparently, the streets get barricaded and are off limits to vehicles on Saturday nights.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

We prepared this dish last Sunday lunch, the recipe is from my friend Irene.

Sammie did a great job wrapping up the asparagus stalks with bacon, they were all firmly wrapped and don't fall apart even if you cut it across the middle.

We're still a bit off with the oven settings and as you can see, the asparagus tips are overcooked. Nevertheless, these were yummy!

Link to Irene's Original Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Green Asparagus Slices of Bacon
• Pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Teriyaki Sauce (Kikkoman)

Steps:

1. Hold 1 asparagus on both ends and bend gently until it snaps. Throw away the bottom portion, and use the remaining one as a guide to cut the rest of the asparagus bundle.



2. Take 3-4 asparagus together, wrap 1 slice of bacon around it in a spiral manner until it covers 3/4 of your asparagus. Do it for the remaining asparagus.



3. Line bacon wrapped asparagus on a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Brush with teriyaki sauce (optional).



4. Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until bacon is brown and crispy.

Pork Liempo

We had broiled pork belly tonight and it was good! It smelled (and tasted) so good that it was all gone before we even thought of taking pictures.

Marinade (portions are estimates):
- 10 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (mushroom based)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- dash of Mc Cormick montreal steak seasoning
- 4 tbsp vinegar

1. Marinade pork belly in mixture for at least 1 hr.
2. Set the turbo broiler to 350F and cook until golden brown. You would have to turn the belly slices over halfway through the process to brown both sides. Depending on the thickness of the slices, this should take between 20 - 30 minutes.